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Before there was "content" there was storytelling and I embraced every part of it. Still do. This is me at the 1995 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival listening to local furniture maker Huey Dupont tell me a whopper.

So here is a question: If you had an endorsement deal to offer an act, with no strings attached (unless, of course, you are a string manufacturer) and the band gave full cooperation, management was onboard, etc., would you give it to the Rolling Stones or to One Direction?

Everyone talks about the importance of content, that seven letter word that in my opinion, has turned many truly creative people into jacked-up drones willing to upchuck pretty much anything online. I used to be a marketing guy and a writer. Now I am a “content provider.” But I digress.

I remember way back in 2003 when Norah Jones took home five Grammy awards. Her FOH mixer at that time, Lee Moro, was emailing me during the telecast each time she was called up on stage to receive an award. “Ten more feet of truck space.” Another award, “just got ten more feet of truck space.” And so on. And sure enough, when Norah did her next tour, there was an additional truckload of goodies for the sound crew. How ‘bout those analytics!

The other day I was sitting outside at a coffee shop that I frequent, wondering why I was feeling out of sorts and invisible. My age? Not likely – around Palm Springs I am a spring chicken. Was it the fact that I was wearing a T-shirt that had nothing written on it? I had purposely worn that shirt thinking, “Aha, so this is what adults do,” and it made me feel like just another jerk sipping ice tea.

The Haji truck has a huge history in rock & roll music, having been part of 20 Gold albums and a handful of Platinum. I was in awe when it showed up. The details of how this next move came about are a bit fuzzy but my friend and co-worker Chris and I decided that it would be fun to “borrow” it for the weekend and record Lost Angeles at a little bar in Newport Beach. I still can’t believe that we got away with it-you’d think that my purchase of several rolls of very expensive two inch recording tape late Friday might have tipped off my boss. That, and asking for the keys to the truck.

Having a “filter” plays large for my AR efforts. This is perhaps where I miss record companies and that whole machine. I sort of liked certain aspects of “the man” implying that I’d like Green Day or Dave Matthews and should get to know them. We don’t have that anymore which is both good and bad when it comes to artist relations. And this is where my hat goes off to NPR.